Diet and Diabetes

If you have diabetes or are concerned about developing it, this article could change the course of your life. I was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes in 1988. At that time I became a member of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, where I focussed my skills on diabetes management. Conventional wisdom said diabetes is a progressive disease with no cure that leads to blindness, kidney disease and amputations. I investigated what my colleagues were doing in other countries with alternative therapies.

I found I was one in a million, that's how many Australians have been diagnosed with diabetes. In 2013 diabetes claimed 2,287 lives and resulted in complications such as cardiovascular, eye and kidney disease, nerve damage, mobility problems, foot, oral and pregnancy complications and amputations. There is also the depression and anxiety of dealing with a progressive disease constantly reminding you of its presence with excessive thirst, urination and itchy skin.

Normally food is broken down into glucose for our cells to use as fuel. Insulin, a hormone made in the pancreas, moves the glucose into the cells for use. People with type 2 diabetes, the most common type, generally have enough insulin but their cells become resistant to it, leaving too much glucose in the bloodstream. High blood glucose causes ketosis, which can lead to diabetic coma and death. Without insulin the only option the body has for removing glucose is to store it as fatty tissue, resulting in obesity. By maintaining strict diet and exercise type 2 diabetics can maintain some control over their disease.

Juvenile diabetics (Type 1) produce no insulin so it needs to be injected. The cause remains elusive but several studies have implicated cow’s milk consumption during pregnancy as a suspect. Getting the balance between insulin dosage, activity and food is difficult and mistakes can prove fatal. Injections are four times a day and testing sugars is twice that to make sure the balance is correct.

In 2006 Dr Neal Barnard MD tried a new approach, trialing a diet plan where legumes, fruits, multigrains and vegetables (LFMV) were unlimited but all fats and oils were removed. A LFMV group was compared to a control group following the accepted approach of calorie and portion control. After 22 weeks the study found the LFMV group had improved their hemoglobin A1C, were able to reduce their diabetes medication, lost more weight and decreased their cholesterol levels compared with the control group.

For the last 20 years I have closely monitored and maintained my health according to the accepted advice of the Australian Diabetes Association. But even with a restricted calorie diet and walking 10km a day I gained 40kg. By going LFMV I finally lost weight and gained muscle, stamina and hope with no need for anything more than a balanced breakfast to do 500 sit-ups, 150 push-ups and 30kg fly-lifts.

The meal plan removes meat and dairy leaving 4 food groups to include for each meal; legumes, fruit, multigrains and vegetables. Legumes such as beans, peas, lentils, tofu and tempeh provide you with the protein you need. Fruit provides simple sugars to give you that energy kick while multigrains like barley, flax, millet, oats and wheat provide complex carbohydrates for endurance. Vegetables contain all the essential nutrients you need in a readily digestible form. Blending soymilk with a handful of baby spinach, muesli and mango is the best way to get all four groups into a delicious, easy, breakfast.

This is an extract from my e-book “The Vegan Diabetic” to find out more, and to get some delicious diabetic friendly vegan recipies go to the website www.vegandiabetic.org or go to the facebook page “Vegan Diabetic”.

Lucas Verhelst

Member Royal Australian Chemical Institute

Member Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Phone 0400251817 • lverhelst@gmail.com • www.vegandiabetic.org

https://www.facebook.com/Vegan-Diabetic